in 2001 tweet about the supreme court showdown over health care, he wrote the american people are not as "stupid as the formerly constitution it will law professor," and in other criticized his policy towards syria saying barack, wake up. the birther debate resurfaced with vickie hearts lers questioning whether the president's birth certificate is real. luke, every time we saw the president sign the jobs act last week, the stock act. there was sort of hints of bipartisanship perhaps. then you look at this and the tenor of the debate, the pitch of the debate, the language being thrown around specifically directed at the rez, the highest office in the land. what's going on? why does the stuff never seem to subsume. >> the gop leadership especially in the house has tried to put on a face of bipartisanship. the most unpopular congresses in recent memory. when they're working better,

they look better. it helps them secure their own districts. we're far enough away from an election, it's not too bad. plus the scale and scope of legislation is not ground changing. is it a major job act that president obama wanted? not so much. >> but the optics of having eric kantor next to the presidents in -- at the signing ceremony i think was not something we expected to see. >> it's not something we expected to see. that's been cantor's m.o. recently is look more agreeable. a lot of folks felt he was damaged as the guy impediment to the debt deal. was he that guy? it depends who you ask in wau washington. it's like how many liks to get to the center of a tootsie pop. >> we'll have to ask matt about that. >> but it's fascinating that after i think just the gop in general has been making this bipartisan push recently in some capacity. albeit little and you see this

argument come back over the weekend and chuck grassley, chuck has been around for a while. he's not some crazy newly elected person. he's been around for a while. >> it was at one point the lynch pin to the affordable care act. we thought he was going to bring folks together and weeks or months after that was the one saying don't pull the plug on grandma. the affordable care act has death panels. >> he's been out there against violence against women reauthorization saying we're trying to sneak native americans and undocumented immigrants through the backdoor when democrats are trying to make sure the policy evolves at the same rate as the american population so something is eating chuck grassley. >> he's 78 years old. having said that, two things, one, this was a very stupid thing that he did. there's no question about it. but also number two, when you talk about bipartisanship in washington, d.c., you can take a look at someone like grassley to luke's point who's been around the block more than once, former chairman of the senate finance committee, knows how degrees get

done in washington, d.c. this was and you fortunate comment. he should apologize for it. >> what about vick kill heartsler? >> she said last thursday, she told the paper, i have doubts it's really his real birth certificate. i think a lot of americans do but we'll go with that. >> this is a comment we've been having for the past four years. >> since he took office. >> even before that in 2007. when you stoke these type of fires particularly in the rural areas, it does nothing but hurt the republican party and the american people. we know that the rez is a legal citizen. we know that he was born in hawaii. we know all the things that we already know. for her to do something like this is childish. it is very, very stupid in my opinion and she should apologize. >> i'm really glad to hear you say that and i hope more republicans will speak out about it. there has been a tolerance of the birther fringe, an unwillingness, john boehner said it coming into office, well, it's not necessarily my job to

tell people what to think. we've heard that refrain over and over. rick santorum when the woman claimed that the president was a muslim, well, it's not really my job to convince people the president's a big boy. and now this. there's a climate where it's okay to say pretty much anything about this president. >> recently, there's been a push from the leadership to style of that talk because it is hurtful in a general election sense. it makes the republican party look completely. >> turns off independent women and that will be the typical voting bloc in the fall. >> i wonder what you guys made of congressman emmanuel cleaver's comment this weekend about the rhetoric coming from the left. listen to what he said yesterday docking about the war on women. >> is it similarly wrong then for democrats to say that the republican party is engaged in a war on women? is that wrong?

>> yes, yes, that is wrong. and i've never said it, not one time. >> so alisha, this it is really a rhetorical issue, right? not rhetorical in the sense that it's not really a question but the fact it's all about rhetoric and whether the language around the legislation that's happening in state houses across the country, whether it's the contraception coverage issue that we're seeing debated in congress, whether that amounts to a war on women. and there's emmanuel clear of saying it's wrong top characterize it as such. >> you don't break through in the news cycle unless you use language that. we've created a tarnd where you need to be that hype ter bol lick. at the same time, republicans are offering policy piece after policy piece that plays into democrats' narrative, whether it's re-moreyization of violence against women act or paycheck fairness. they're now real -- theirs merit behind this argument. it's not just rhetoric anymore. >> they're very good. the republican party is very good at changing the terms of

the debate and making it about the way we talk. i actually don't use the war on women imagery at all. but it's not like we're saying there's a literal war on women. every time they try to tamp it down, they do come back and do something like scott walker sign tag bill repealing the equal pay protections in wisconsin. we did not invent transvaginal ultrasound. >> that tool, that comes from the republican arsenal. >> what's interesting is the presumptive republican nominee is not talking about this. what you see is a lot of folks on the left trying to make this an issue, understandably so perhaps because there's merit there. but wa romney's trying to do is talk all about the economy. his point is whether you're a man or woman -- >> the president wants to trump up on this war on women. take friday. very disappointing jobs numbers. but he wasn't talking about that. he was talking about women.

that was perpetuated. >> even around the economy, the president has introduced very, very sharp language. a lot of people think accurate language when you're talking about the paul ryan budget but the social darwinism, antithetical to who we are as a country. do you think that turns off independent voters? >>. >> and go ahead, i'm sorry. >> i think it frames it as a very clear choice between two very different visions of america. once again, because republicans continue to amp up their language, it gives the president and his camp no choice but to portray this in very stark -- >> i would say his numbers with independents have improved since he did amp up his language. he came out of that debt ceiling nondeal very defeated and very low in the polls with independents. the more he fights back, his numbers rise. i can't say that's the only reason they're rising. there's a lot going on, but i do think that it's working, and i just -- it's not the equivalent of shouting you lie.

>> right. >> you know, he has done nothing that approaches anything extreme. >> the last gallup swing state poll, president obama was trailing mitt romney amongst independent women about three months ago. that's now flipped. he's up by 14 points. 19% and points amongst independents overall. a lot of that comes from women. they've gone over to him. >> for now. >> for now. michelle obama on the biggest loser". that is the permanent that the helps obama. at halftime of the final four when he talks about his daughters playing basketball, it translates into good gains with women. >> i'm sorry. >> e.j. dion in the "washington post" saying conservatives are not accustomed to being on the defensive. they love to assail tax and spend liberals without ever discussing who should be taxed or what government money is actually spent on. they expect their progressive opponents to be wimpy and

apologetic. how about that robert? >> i think what he's trying to say is republicans are very good on the offense and keeping democrats on the defense. if you look at the presidency of george w. bush, actually pretty good job. the only time the bush administration and republicans were on the defense was on immigration in 2006 and in 2008 because the economy was going south. so if i understand his hypothesis overall, e.j. dion is probably right. >> something tells me the republicans may be on the defensive about immigration again this campaign. >> there is a defensive on the surge a little bit in 2006. that's another story. >> on the right. >> the wars, yes. coming up, mitt romney readies his war chest for pennsylvania. the santorum camp keeps its cash on the sidelines and newt gingrich talks as if he's already dropped out. dear primary season, we will miss you. we'll look at that next on "now." let me tell you about a very important phone call i made.

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outspent rick santorum? states by margins of 3, 4, and 5 to 1. but currently in santorum's home state of pennsylvania, romney is outspending him by nearly $3 million to zero. out of respect for strup's daughter bella who has been hospitalized, this morning romney switched the spot he is airing from an attack ad to a pro-romney ad. here's my question. everybody says this thing is buttoned up. and yet, he's spending is seven figures in a state santorum needs to win to prove i guess

he's still in contention but shows that romney's still kind of worried that however small, a slight opening in the door through which rick strum may or may not walk through. is that what that means? >> kind of. i think it's bigger than that. if, if romney said rick santorum i'm not going to worry about you, that sets rick santorum up to win next month's primaries which is texas, arkansas, west virginia and so for the. what i think romney is trying to do is slam the door shut in rick santorum's home state by saying you got to spend some money here, my friend. you need to really think long and hard whether you want to lose your home state or not. >> i think he's taking joe scarborough's advice. >> salt the earth. >> carthage. >> you cannot go home again if you continue on. we all have a stake in a way of keeping this conversation going because it's kind of fun. >> joan, how cynical of you. >> i'm sorry. but seriously, it's going to be

silly if he wins his home state it's going to be a news event that he won but it will be because it keeps him alive to fight in these future states. >> part of this is the politics of the personal. i think mitt romney is personally that rick santorum has sayed in it this long and said the things he's said how it would be better off for obama to be elected than elect a fake conservative like mitt romney. you want to try and take this away from me within the party to try and benefit yourself? you're trying to put yourself above the greater good of the party? i'm going to take all my rich donor establishment money and drop it on you and. [ laughter ] while you sink, sink, sink. >> that's luke russert. >> he has the money. >> doesn'tet need rick santorum going into the general? >> no. >> it's been so hard for romney to access is the very voters rick santorum has fired up. >> rick santorum is like hillary clinton. he's -- he doesn't epitomize the

movement. >> your point is, i think what you're saying is the santorum voters are going to vote for romney anyway. >> or if they get pushed along by other folks. >> that's the contention about the southern states. >> to alisha's point, rick santorum say whatever you want about him. he's somewhat influential within the conservative movement. the question is when romney presumably gets the nomination by next month, do you want a rick santorum bad mouthing you, to your point, luke, he's been doing over the last six weeks. that's really the question. >> it won't happen. >> another question for rick santorum is his career arc. he is in a great position compared to where he was at the begive of the primary season and he could use the fruits of his labor to get either -- >> sell more books. >> that's what he'll do. he'll write a book after this and sell it. he's a conservative book club candidate. >> start a foundation. >> richard land saying santorum resurrected a political career that was dormant. as his friend, i would say you

ought to seriously consider leaving. >> i'm going to continue to push that he wants to be director of health and human services. >> terrifying concept. >> but in addition, he needs to figure out what he wants. we know what gingrich wants. he wants a big push for the tenth amendment. he wants to have this balanced budget amendment. you know the policywise why he's still in this. >> i was talking about santorum. >> santorum needs to figure out what that is for him. >> newt gingrich has sort of been frittering around and nobody's asking him to leave because he's not seen as a threat. he himself doesn't think he's a threat or perhaps that he's even in this race. let's listen to what he said about his candidacy over the weekend. >> if i end up not nominee, i've talked to chairman reince priebus. i'd want to work this fall to defeat obama any way i could, whatever the team thinks i could do to be helpful i will do. i go back to a post political

career. i'm glad i did this. >> i'm glad i did this. >> past tense. >> he's not even using the present. >> no, glad he beat up mitt romney in south carolina and embarrassed romney on the debate is taken more so than any democratic ad could hope to do. then he says he's a team player. that's the difference between santorum and gingrich. at the end of the day, gingrich still has a little bit of establishment in him. >> i talked to some newt folks who told me the reason he did this in the first place was to sell books initially. he never thought he would go so far. now newt is now saying i made mitt romney a stronger candidate, i made him a little bit more conservative and made him a better debater. >> he's the henry higgins of the race. to your earlier point, rick santorum for him, this is a movement. this is not about being a flash

in a pan for right now. this is the long haul, not short term. >> democrats will thank gingrich for bringing in vulture capitalism and open the bane box that will president obama would have done. >> and rick santorum certainly played a role in opening up the pandora's box and urging the bad spirits to fly out of it. it is worth noting that the road ahead for romney independent of santorum could be rocky or at least uphill given the organization question. obama has opened 200 offices, two-thirds of those are official organizing for america offices. 4200, there are 4200, sorry, obama for america events scheduled through june. i'm not good at math but my producers say that's around 50 events a day. obama has 22 offices in florida. romney has closed three of them. florida. >> this is why i think you see the romney campaign and rnc starting to get things in motion so they can go into general

election mode. they know they're behind right now. >> we see the strength of the obama ground game. that's what we hear. it's going to be bigger than '08. they've been preparing for this. have you seen american crossroads, $300 million. they're already going up with ads criticizing president obama. what means more this is type of ground game or $300 million on tv. >> air war versus grassroots. something tells me the obama team will he have their share of ads to air both on networks and the web. after the break, new developments in the trayvon martin investigation. we'll have a live report on the details next. emily's just starting out... and on a budget.

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we are getting new information on the trayvon martin investigation. let's go now to nbc news kerry sanders live in sanford, florida, with the latest. thanks for giving us an update. >> reporter: well, there was the possibility here that the special prosecutor could take this to a grand jury which is impaneled and meets tomorrow but she has now sent out an announcement she is not going to use that option, which means that the decision on charges or no charges will rest solely with her. that means that is there is no timetable, but it also means that tomorrow is not necessarily a day of significant importance because the grand jury is now off the table. she has been gathering evidence with the help of the florida department of law enforcement, reviewing the evidence that was gathered by the sanford police as well as the state attorney here, but of course, gathering much more information, much more evidence to determine whether florida's stand your ground law

was properly applied here by the state attorney in seminole county or whether the interpretation was perhaps incorrect and that there potentially could be charges. so george zimmerman who has actually never even met his attorneys face to face remains notice hiding as this continues. the trayvon martin family has continued to put pressure on the state attorney's office demanding not that there necessarily be anything more than a thorough investigation and, of course, they believe, alex, that there should be an arrest and charges. >> kerry, what is the practicalal effect on the final determination here? is there any sort of analysis as to what this does for the trial? >> you know, i think that at this point, it's sort of like everybody gets to take a collective breath. people who are waiting for something to recognize that a decision has been made, although it is a procedural decision made by the special prosecutor. but that procedural decision

means that she has gathered to some extent the evidence that she thinks she needs to move forward without now having to present it to a grand jury. it doesn't mean tomorrow or wednesday she's necessarily going to have a decision on whether there should be charges or not but it means she is moving forward in the procedural aspects. remember, first she had to deal with gather the evidence. if she's to the point where she she can say i don't need to go to the grand jury, that means she is now thinking beyond the initial gathering of evidence in the field. >> kerry, one quick last question for you. we were hearing reports there were protests going on inside the sanford police department that's been closed. can you tell us about the community reaction to this news? >>. >> reporter: they're calling themselves the dream defenders. for three days now, they've marched more than 40 miles from the east coast here to sanford and they made their way to the police department and they -- in their version of civil disobedience are quietly sitting

outside the police department and have effectively closed off ingress and he gres to the police department. the police monitoring them out there. they have decided not to take any action in terms of removing them. rather, they have chosen to just close the police department, but it doesn't mean closed. i mean, if somebody needs help across town because they've had a car accident or there's a burglary or something like that, they can still dial and get the response. it just means that the physical entrance and access to the building is closed for the rest of the day, a decision made by the city manager in sanford. they could have chosen to physically remove those who were sitting there. but there's some sensitivity of creating any sort of conflict where there are so many emotions running high awaiting a decision from the special prosecutor, alex into it is certainly a developing situation. we'll continue to follow it. kerry sanders, thank you, sir, for the update. coming up, as president obama ramps up talk of income equality in the face of a less than

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hanging over us. hindering economic growth. it's time for some common sense -- people in congress who'll come together and put partisan politics aside. not with radical schemes that gamble with america's future. but with a plan that requires washington

to balance the budget the right way -- protecting the priorities of america's families. tell congress to pass a common sense balanced budget -- now. sign the petition at center-forward.org. president obama will travel to the swing state of florida tomorrow to make the case for the buffett rule. just four days after the latest numbers show job growth slowing in march. the buffett bill is expected to go nowhere in congress but does highlight a major theme of the president's campaign, the growing gap between rich and poor. joining us now from washington is the president of the center for american progress nira tan deny. it is great to see you. >> great to see you. >> i was very struck as was luke russert who we'll hear from soon about the wage -- the job training spending, the federal outlays for job training programs and how they have not at all kept up pace with demand

and in fact, have been cut since their high point in 2006. federal money for worker training is 18% lower in today's dollars than it was in 2006. we have anecdotally stories in the "new york times" about jobs being out there but workers unable to get the training necessary to even apply for them. >> yeah, this is a stark contrast between the two the parties actually. if you look at what the president said last weekend where we've been in the budget process, you know, paul ryan has put forward a budget that would slash these programs even further. would rl eviscerate the safety net that exists. and you know, "the new york times" had a story about welfare and its impact on the poorest americans and the fact is that the two parties today are really debating will to eviscerate the social safety net which the ryan plan is a plan than romney has supported. that's the ultimate result of that the plan or to try and build support. president has called for an

actual increase in job training because of this precise problem which is that there are jobs in the country that people don't have the training for. it seems like just a win/win to provide that training so people can have those jobs and ultimately pay taxes. >> luke, you were tweeting about this earlier this morning. the job training spending and sort of this is what "compromise looks like." >> it is. >> you know, tell us more about what you were saying. >> you read this article, right? the stat that jumped out at me, federal rating for jobs rating 1% lower than 2006. there are six million more unemployed people than in 2006. there's less money going today in terrible times than there was in reasonably good times back then. this really is a by-product of some of these debt deals that have been made or in terms of extending unemployment benefits which in lieu of extending unemployment benefits, have you to not fulfill these job retraining programs. and some liberals have cried

foul about it. when these deals have been paid. but for the most part, this is the course of action, what compromise is going to be to avoid some bigger more catastrophic issue. here you're seeing a literal representation of government cuts prohibiting job growth. >> and a place where government can do something. >> that's the question you always say where can government make a difference, here it could make a difference. it's an underreported story now coming to the forefront. >> neera, we talk about the smoke and mirrors in terms of budget cuts and not understanding the true human impact. you mentioned "the new york times" story on welfare which seems to suggest this idea we're cutting the welfare roles is masking continued poverty. the stories i thought in that piece were heartbreaking, women who are on welfare, many are single mothers selling food stamps, selling blood, going back to abusive partners who can offer them a place to sleep at night, collecting bottles and cans to have food on table.

it's staggering this is happening in the united states of america. >> look, the premise of welfare reform was built on this idea that states would live up to their partnership, that states would handle the responsibility for dealing with needs of the poorest amongst us and really dealing with families with children. and take care of those children and "the new york times" quks pointed out that states like arizona are playing a bait and switch game with this money and using the pone for other things. sometimes worthy but not dealing with the needs of the poorest americans. and i this i that's really a challenge to all of us that we should ensure that we have welfare reform that's true reform that we are providing safety supports and income supports to those people who really need it who are mothers with children, and tell states that are using this money for other services that's really not the proper service. this is not what whenever reform was supposed to be. >> indeed.

those american who are working, you look at wage growth which i incorrectly name checked at the beginning of the segment. again, it's like in 2010, the top 1% captured 93% of income gains while effectively the 99% remained flat. i mean -- >> you've never had this in a recovery before. you've never had this kind of perpetuation of inequality and skewing of the benefits of a nominal recovery so far in the direction of the super rich and not at all in the direction of the american worker. >> and then we talk about how that's going to play out in the campaign season. president has a clear message about income inequality. going to make a bigger pitch for pushing the buffett rule. you can argue taxg the top 1% isn't going to pump that much more money in the economy but the idea of fairness seems to be a powerful notion when you look at stats like this. >> the president is getting an aassist from paul ryan. there has to be space between paul wellstone's we all do

better when he ecall do better a. there are some people who don't deserve a chance according to ryan, there are people who don't need a safety net. >> he called the safety net a hammock as though people just lie back in it. >> which is the 2012 version of welfare queens sitting at home and not doing anything. neera, when we talk about paul ryan, paul krugman had an interesting idea he was writing about in the "new york times" which was that paul ryan is being cast as this moderate when in reality he calls him and rand style you know not hawk on fiscal issues but an extremist on budgetary principles. >> the challenge of paul ryan and really i think we talk a lot about paul ryan but it's actually mitt romney that has embraced these proposals. we have a very stark difference between one vision which really takes us back to pregreat depression, 100 years ago where

there was no social safety supports because there was this is vision that people were just too lazy, et cetera. then we had the great depression and we recognized that we are actually better off when we ensure that we provide opportunity for millions of americans and the challenge we have now is that we're reliving those debates and the differences between president obama and mitt romney could not be starker on this on buffett rule or the inverse which is insuring opportunity for the lowest income americans and for all-americans to climb into the middle class and achieve their -- really achieve their dreams. we have two visions that are lynx inverse of each other. one gives money to the rich and takes from the poor and the middle class and the other actually provides opportunity and asks the wealthiest to pay their fair share. the election will tell us which direction the country would like to go to. i hope it's one where there's more and more opportunity for americans instead of less opportunity for americans. >> that debate shows no sign of

resolving itself. >> after the break, it was quite a weekend in the sports world. tim tebow gives an outdoor church sermon in front of thousands and a man named bubba breaks down in tears after winning the masters. we'll take a look at the cultural implications of a special sunday. that's next. hi, i'm phil mickelson. i've been fortunate to win on golf's biggest stages. but when joint pain and stiffness

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and then whatever happens in life, good or bad, whether you're the hero or the goat, whether you like it or not, you know that someone has a plan for your life. and it's a special plan. and you can trust that, and you have hope in that. then you have peace in all decisions in everything that you do and it brings a lot of joy to your life. >> tim tebow continues to inspire both praise and criticism after speaking to a crowd of 15,000 at a megachurch

in terms while golfer bubba watson's emotional breakdown after winning the masters continues to raise eyebrows. are sports becoming too personal, luke? >> not at all. i think it's reflective of the time we live in. look, there's been a history of athletes perpetuating some sort of social message. we think back to the 1968 olympics with the black glove and black power. muhammad ali we could argue is one of the best well-known athlete with the social message. i think this day and age tim tee bowl kind of personifies the real evangelical christian belief. wear it on your sleeve. bubba watson, the crying and emotion i choked up when i saw him do that because he's been through a lot recently and has a new baby. >> are we really debating whether it was okay for him to cry? >> some people are saying it was not okay. >> why is it not okay? to luke's point, these are role models. whether you agree with them or

not, it's okay for a sports person to be able to show emotion in public. it shows they're human. regardless of whether you agree with it or disagree with it, it's okay for an athlete to go to church and talk about morals. >> the question is, like how galvanizing tim tebow's sermons for those of in moerk are not evangelical christians. joseph mattera said i think there are going to be a lot of kids in public school tebowing. it will make christianity more popular for the young people, unless the guy bombs out. when you see tim tebow, do you think he sort of energizes young people and draws them toward a christian message? >> you go to most college campuses, they have this type of youth ministry and have the

coolest, best looking athletic kids really preaching the gospel. to me, this is just that on steroids. >> the question is whether new yorkers will take it, whether he can make and i road. >> remember, there are a lot of folks who went after michael jordan saying you should get more involved in politics. his response was republicans buy sneakers, too. there's people who say they should be more or less involved. quite honestly what tebow does is personifies the evangelical belief. a lot of parents if they look at athletes they want their kids to grow up to look like, he has to be pretty high on that list. he's not beating women, cursing. >> he's not going to prison. it's not just the megachurches. he is preaching more community oriented message, as well. >> in many ways, he kind of sees himself as a missionary. my understanding is his father was a missionary. for someone who that is a plat tomorrow to talk about, be

faithful to your spouse, you should not lie, you should not steal, what's wrong with that? >> he wins the super bowl, he can go to times square and preach whatever he wants. >> he's doing it very well. you remember when jessica simpson and britney spears wos talk about their faith and talk very specifically about being virgins until they got married. then that backfired on the both of them. the fact he manages to keep it at this is macro level and make it less about himself and his personal choices. >> there is a tiger woods scandal about tim tebow, if there is, i think that would destroy the mentality of so many people in the country. he does walk the walk. >> and validate some of the stereotypes some folks have about evangelicals and folksing that live sort of absolute lives. >> a double live. >> when we're talking about bubba watson, the reason we've been talking about augusta on this show and other places is because of their policy with regards to women and their admission to the club. bubba's win would seem to cast a

shadow or perhaps distract from that will distraction. luke, you called it -- >> the biggest win for ret state america since bush got elected. bubba watson from the baghdad, florida, went to the university of florida. a true red blooded southern american. university of georgia is extremely popular among the members of the augusta country club. i believe their president played football there. you have a guy in bubba who personifies that. came away winning this in overtime against a south african and you have to think was there one person on that course not rooting for bub wa watson? i was rooting for bub wa wat. i am all for men showing their emotions. i think it would have been more validating if he had been crying over augusta's policy to not let women in. everybody is going to hate me for saying that.

let's not forget what is going on as far as. >> i love. >> you coming up, the u.s. signs a key pact with afghanistan, violence explodes in syria and nuclear tensions escalate with iran and north korea. how will the white house navigate foreign follows in an election year next in what now. with the capital one cash rewards card you get a 50% annual bonus. and everyone likes 50% more cash -- well, except her. no! but, i'm about to change that. ♪ every little baby wants 50% more cash... ♪ phhht! fine, you try. [ strings breaking, wood splintering ] ha ha. [ male announcer ] the capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. ♪ what's in your wallet? ♪ what's in your...your...

welcome back. time for what now. in addition to running for re-election and trying to revive the u.s. economy, the president has a pretty full foreign policy plate, syrian border clashes, north korean nuclear testing, a possible nuclear compromise with iran and ending night raids in afghanistan. joan, we talk about the things that will decide this election, the factors that will weigh heavily on voters' minds as they go to the polls. we've talks a lot about the economy and certainly that will be an issue. you look what's happening in the

rest of the world and this could be a game-changer for the pr ez. >> it could be if any of these situations were to blow up. right now this low level chaos, he seems to be handling it really well. the republicans keep throwing stone at him but nobody expects him to solve the situation in syria overnight. iran getting a nuclear bomb would be bad. but he's handling it with a lot of talk. pull, ending the u.s. night raids in afghanistan, every step we take away from afghanistan is good for him politically, i believe, because people are getting very, very tired of that war. so, you know, i think unless something really goes hay wire on the economy. >> on the night raids, "the new york times" article, the agreement covers all the night raids carried out by special operation forces. however a maul number of operations are conducted under other auspis you spiss includin special trained cia units not covered by the agreement. >> that's a larger point about

the obama administration's counter-terrorism policy. >> if need be, they will be carried out and it doesn't mat fer the afghan government approves of it. >> that's something that bears more discussion and examination as we talk about the policies that this administration has either not walked back or in fact put in place. >> the real hot pot is the north korea because they're all obviously priorities but that's the imminent threat. it is a sovereign state but the question becomes, what does he do with china because north korea gets a lot of its aid through china. thus in the process do you really negotiate with the china or with north korea. that's the real question. >> if you're a mitt romney, you've said fairly antagonistic things toward china. how does that play out. the weather in the u.s. this year has been so warm, it has meteorologists sounding the warning bell again over climate change. we were talking about this over the break. it has been creepily warm. >> luke, we disagree on this.

in some ways this is a setback for climate change because so many people are like, this is great. this is nice. i understand there are people who for the first time are tuning into this conversation and realizing there is climate change. don't you think the basic camps stay as they are? >> into into. >> this warm weather is the best thing that happened since an inconvenient truth came about. you talk to people around the country. i was driving through southern virginia in late november. where it's usually cold. it's around the 70s. people are saying this is different. this is vang. they haven't felt this before. i have the stat here i wrote down. >> in the lower 48, temperatures are 8.6. >> 5 to 10% is what noah said. >> does that is move people to care about carbon emissions? >> he remember it. you felt it for the first time. >> that are you wearing shorts in northern virginia in december. >> when that tips over into action i wonder. >> leadership is part of the equation. so far there's been a dearth of

that. >> it helped the economy back in january and february. so there's an upi'd to that. i can talk about that more if you want. >> thust didn't work for ski resorts. >> speaking of summer weather wear, we have some incredible hats. >> look at these. >> wow, the knicks saw the show. they loved it so much, they said this has to be the advertising, the playoff push. now, the team needs to win now. when you pay the hundreds of millions to carmelo anthony, you've got to win now. >> i'm just saying that this is clearly part of an effort to lure me to madison square garden courtside. now that jeremy lin is out with a linjury. we appreciate the messaging. >> mess up the hair. >> i can't mess up the hair. thanks again to robert, joan, an lishio, and luke. we'll see you back here tomorrow when i'm joined by john

heilemann, jonathan heilemann and joan walsh. "andrea mitchell reports" is next. happy monday afternoon. >> we will remember legendary newsman mike wallace today. tom brokaw is here to take a look back at some of mike wallace's biggest interviews. richard engel gets rare access inside a military base in north korea. and what could cost the republicans control of congress? jonathan martin is here from politico to explain. all that and in florida we had more sun tans... in alabama we had more beautiful blooms... in mississippi we had more good times... in louisiana we had more fun on the water. last season we broke all kinds of records down here on the gulf. more people more good times. this year we're out to do even better... and now's a great time to start. the sun's out and the beaches are even more relaxing. you can go deep sea fishing

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